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The Green Screen for Safer Chemicals

Mark Rossi,* PhD &Lauren Heine,** PhD

OEHHA-COEH WORKSHOPOctober 1, 2007

*Research Director, Clean Production Action**Principal, Lauren Heine Group, LLC

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1. Foundation2. Green Screen Method3. Applying Green Screen to

Flame Retardants

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1. Foundation

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• Defines a path to greener, safer chemicals

Why the Green Screen?

• Hazards (not risks)

• Open Source: transparent + publicly available resource

• Towards agreement on a method for defining safer, healthier chemicals

• Builds from : – 12 Principles of Green Chemistry– US EPA DfE Alternatives Assessment model

• Life cycle thinking

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“the utilization of a set of principles that reduces the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products.”

#2. Design safer chemicals and products: Design chemical products to be fully effective, yet have little or no toxicity.

#10. Design chemicals and products to degrade after use: Design chemical products to break down to innocuous substances after use so that they do not accumulate in the environment.

#12. Minimize the potential for accidents: Design chemicals and their forms to minimize the potential for chemical accidents including explosions, fires, and releases to the environment.

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Most effective means to reduce risk?

Risk = Hazard + Exposure

Reduce Hazard

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US EPA Design for

Environment (DfE)

Program

[published in 2005]

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Human Health Effects– Cancer– Reproductive– Developmental– Genotoxicity

(mutagenicity)– Neurological– Systemic– Skin Sensitizer

Identify Priority Endpoints for Screening Level Toxicology

(summarized in Table 4-1)

Ecotoxicity– Acute – Chronic

Environmental– Persistence– Bioaccumulation

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Levels of Concern– High – Moderate – Low▲= Persistent

degradation products expected

Define Levels of Concern, Collect Data and

Apply to Each Endpoint

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Result: Table 4-1 Screening Level Toxicology and Exposure Summary

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2. Green Screen for Safer

Chemicals –Method

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Green Screen – Overview

• Benchmarks – defines 4 benchmarks• Hazard Criteria – each benchmark consists of

a set of hazard criteria• Hazard Endpoints + Levels of Concern –

each hazard criterion consists of these• Threshold Values – defines the levels of

concern

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a. PBT = high Persistence + high Bioaccumulation +high Toxicity

b. vPvB = very Persistent + very Bioaccumulativec. vPT or vBT = (very Persistent or very

Bioaccumulative) + Toxicd. high Human Toxicity for any “priority effect”

Hazard Criteria -- Hazard Endpoint(s) + Level of Concern

(four hazard criteria for Benchmark 1)

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“Priority Effects” – Human Health

• Cancer

• Reproductive/ Developmental Toxicity

• Genotoxicity / Mutagenicity

• Endocrine Disruption

• Neurotoxicity

= EU, REACH, Article 57 = US EPA, 40 CFR Part 372, PBT Final Rule (1999)

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Human Health Effects*** Cancer*** Reproductive*** Developmental*** Genotoxicity

(mutagenicity)*** Neurological– Systemic– Skin Sensitizer*** Endocrine disruption– Acute toxicity– Corrosion/irritation

skin/eye– Immune system

Hazard Endpoints

Ecotoxicity– Acute – Chronic

Environmental– Persistence– Bioaccumulation

Physical/Chemical– Explodability– Flammability

*** = Priority Human Health Effect

“Green” endpoints are in Green Screen, not US EPA DfE summary table.

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Levels of Concern Defined by Threshold Values

vH = very HighH = HighM = ModerateL = Low

Threshold values define level of concern for each hazard endpoint:

• Environmental fate: persistence + bioaccumulation

• Ecotoxicity: acute + chronic• Human Health• Physical/Chemical Properties

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Levels of Concern: Environmental Fate & Ecotoxicity

Hazard Very High (v)

High (H) Moderate (M) Low (L)

• Soil or sedi-ment >180 days; or

• Soil or sediment >60 to 180 days;

• Soil or sediment 30-60 days; or

• Soil or sediment <30 days;

• Water >60 days

• Water >40 to 60 days; or

• Water 7-40 days • Water<7 days; or

• Potential for long-range environmental transport

• Ready bio-degradability

• BCF/BAF >5000; or

• BCF/BAF >1000 to 5000;

• BCF/BAF 500 to 1000;

• BCF/BAF <500; or

• log Kow>5 • log Kow >4.5-5; or • log Kow >4-4.5; or

• log Kow<4

• Weight of evidence demonstrates bioaccumulation

• Suggestive evidence of bioaccumulation

• LC50/EC50/IC50 <1 mg/l; or

• LC50/EC50/IC50 1-100 mg/l; or

• GHS Category 1 • GHS 2 or 3

• NOEC<0.1 mg/l; or • NOEC 0.1-10 mg/l; or

• GHS Category 1 • GHS 2, 3, or4

Ecotoxicity

Acute Aquatic Toxicity • LC50/EC50/IC50

>100 mg/l

Chronic Aquatic Toxicity • NOEC >10 mg/l

Environmental Fate

Per-sistence (half-life in days)

Bio-accumul-ation Potential

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Levels of Concern: Human Health – for example, Cancer

High Moderate Low • Evidence of adverse effects in humans • Weight of evidence demonstrates potential for adverse effects in humans • US EPA known/probable • NTP or OSHA • IARC Group 1 or 2A • California Prop 65 • EU Category 1 or 2 • GHS Category 1A or 1B

• Suggestive animal studies • Analog data • Chemical class known to produce toxicity • US EPA possible • IARC Group 2B • EU Category 3 • GHS Category 2

No basis for concern

GHS = Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals

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“Breakdown Products”

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3. Applying the Green Screen to

Flame Retardants

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Applying the Green Screen

1. Gather data – no small task!2. Assign level of concern to each endpoint for

each chemical & its breakdown product(s)3. Run each chemical through the Green Screen

to determine chemical Benchmark achieved4. Benchmark achieved by a chemical & its

breakdown products is the lowest Benchmark achieved by either the chemical or a breakdown product

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Run Each Chemical through the Green Screen Chemical Reason for Benchmark Stopped by Benchmark …

• H - bioaccumulation • M - persistence • H - chronic ecotox. • M - systemic + irritation eyes

CAS# 98165-92-5 • H - persistence • M - systemic + irritation eyes Benchmark 2(c) • M - bioaccumulation • H - acute + chronic ecotoxicity • M - systemic + irritation/corrosion eyes

CAS# 108-95-2 (phenol) • H - systemic + irritation/corrosion eyes/skin Benchmark 2(d)CAS# 108-46-3 • M - acute and chronic ecotoxicity (resorcinol) • M - endocrine, neurotox., acute, skin sen., irritation/corrosionCAS# 838-85-7

CAS# 5945-33-5 • H - persistence • M - systemic + irritation eyes Benchmark 2(c) CAS# 83029-72-5 • vH - persistence • M - systemic + irritation eyes Benchmark 2(c)

• M - bioaccumulation • H - acute + chronic ecotoxicity • M - systemic + irritation/corrosion eyes

CAS# 108-95-2 (phenol) • H - systemic + irritation/corrosion eyes/skin Benchmark 2(d) CAS# 80-05-7 (BPA) • H - endocrine disruption (emerging: H - repro. + dev.) Benchmark 1(d) CAS# 838-85-7

• vH - persistence • M - bioaccumulation • M - cancer, repro., dev., neurological, systemic, endocrine

CAS# 32536-52-0 (octaBDE) • vH - persistence • H - reproductive effects Benchmark 1(c)

• vH - persistence + bioaccumulation • H - acute + chronic ecotox. • H - systemic organ effects

CAS# 1163-19-5 (decaBDE) Benchmark 2(a), 2(c), 2(d)

CAS# 32536-52-0 (pentaBDE) Benchmark 1(a), 1(b), 1(c)

(diphenyl phosphate) insufficient data for evaluation

BPADP (BAPP) Constituents and Breakdown Products

RDP Constituents and Breakdown Products

CAS# 57583-54-7

CAS# 115-86-6 (triphenyl phosphate)

Benchmark 2(a), 2(c)

Benchmark 3(a), 3(b), 3(c)

Benchmark 3(a), 3(b), 3(c)

(diphenyl phosphate) insufficient data for evaluation

DecaBDE and Breakdown Products

CAS# 115-86-6 (triphenyl phosphate) Benchmark 3(a), 3(b), 3(c)

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Final Benchmarks for Three Flame Retardant Chemicals

(& their breakdown products)Chemical Reason for Benchmark Final Benchmark

• Chemical constituents: high persistence or bioaccumulation and moderate or high toxicity (but not for priority effects) -- Benchmarks 2(a), 2(c) • Breakdown product: phenol -- high toxicity (but not for priority effects) -- Benchmark 2(d)

RDP and its breakdown products

BPADP (or BAPP)and its breakdown products

DecaBDE and its breakdown products

Breakdown products:• pentaBDE = PBT, vPvB, vPT, vBT, + H-endocrine -- Benchmarks 1(a),(b),(c)• octaBDE = vPT + H-developmental -- Benchmark 1(c)

Benchmark 2: Use but Search for Safer

Substitutes

Benchmark 1: Avoid - Chemical of High

Concern

Breakdown product (and formulation contaminant): bisphenol A -- high concern for endocrine disruption -- Benchmark 1(d)

Benchmark 1: Avoid - Chemical of High

Concern

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For Copies of the Green Screen…

www.cleanproduction.org/Green.Greenscreen.php